In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth…

Notes by Olivia Highwood

A Background of Eva Gore-Booth and Constance Markiewicz

For more information on the sisters, see the page on ‘Yeats’ Women’

Eva Gore-Booth was the younger sister of Constance Gore-Booth, who later became Constance Markiewicz. The sisters were born at Lissadell House where Yeats spent a lot of his time as a young man. The sisters were brought up in an aristocratic family, and both gave it up to live the different and fervent lifestyles that they chose. Eva was a committed suffragette and fell in love – and formed a committed relationship with a woman, Esther Roper.

Eva and Esther created a Sligo branch of the Irish Women’s Suffrage, which was where Lissadell was situated. William Butler Yeats had earlier thought about proposing to Eva before she fell in love with Esther. Constance Markiewicz was an Irish National Revolutionary, and became the first female elected to the British House of Commons; although as a member of Sinn Fein she would not accept the seat. She was sentenced to death after the Easter Rising of 1916, but the sentence was commuted to imprisonment – following a public outcry both in Britain and Ireland – because she was a woman. The sisters died within one year of each other in 1926 and 1927.

Analysis of the Poem

‘In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth and Con Markiewicz’ mirrors the structure of a Petrachen Sonnet, but the poem is longer. It therefore- in terms of form – seems like a typical Petrachen Sonnet has been stretched. The first four lines show the set up of the poem, and how the girls did not suit being at Lissadell. It also shows the luxury of the house that they grew up in; ‘Great windows open to the south’ showing how big and imposing it was. Yeats relates the sisters to Asian/African themes to show how they did not ‘fit in’ to their aristocratic lives: ‘silk kimonos’ and ‘one a gazelle’ illustrate this point, and also shows the elegance of Eva Gore-Booth. However, Yeats describes how they are stripped of their beauty by age by saying ‘autumn shears blossom from the summer’s wreath.’ Yeats calls Constance ignorant for her actions in Easter 1916, and adds to the irrelevance of her ways by saying that they were ‘younger dreams’, and therefore she was young and foolish. He thinks that she dreamed of a ‘utopia’ which was an unachievable perfect state. Yeats compares Constance to her politics by saying that she is ‘skeleton-gaunt’, and that fervor for something takes away beauty, as it did with Maud Gonne. He thinks that he should have been to see them, but didn’t, leading to ‘A terrible beauty is born’ in Easter 1916. Yeats portrays the ‘talk of youth’ to be a policy of talking rather than doing, and wanting change to happen, rather than making it happen. The first stanza shows the point that fervor can corrupt beauty, and make one look old and spoiled.

The second stanza of the poem gives more support for the sisters, rather than criticism of them, as was shown in the first stanza. Yeats suggests that he believes in some sort of afterlife when he says ‘Dear shadows’, and furthermore once again shows the ignorance of the thoughts of youthful people by saying ‘now you know it all.’ This suggests that they didn’t know everything before they died, but now – in death – they can have the ultimate, omnipotent, knowledge. In addition, the ambiguity of ‘shadows’ suggests that the nature of the afterlife Yeats imagines is not necessarily rooted in any particular theological doctrine. The poem shows the childishness of the sisters’ actions by saying ‘the folly of afight’, which also shows the madness of what they are doing. The point of childishness is emphasized by rhyming ‘fight’ and ‘right’ together, by showing the immaturity of the poem’s structure. The comparison of a ‘gazebo’ attached to a house shows the way that Ireland is attached to Great Britain. It makes the arrangement seem temporary, and weak. This can also show them making a fool of themselves, as ‘gazebo’ means to make a fool of oneself in colloquial Hiberno-English. Yeats also pins the blame of the sisters’ downfall on himself because he did not see them or stop them by saying; ‘they convicted us of guilt.’ The final line of the poem shows how he played a part in what happened: ‘Bid me strike a match and blow.’ This could either mean that his plays that showed fervor should have been written but never shown, or that he should have let them run their course and faced the consequences. This depends upon whether he is giving the metaphorical match oxygen to burn, or blowing it out. It leaves us with a question as to whether he regrets it, and if so what does he regret? Although a match is temporary, it can lead to bigger things that have the potential to destroy.

Key Links to Other Poems

– Among School Children -‘When withered old and skeleton-gaunt, an image of such politics’ – Maud Gonne

– Easter 1916 -‘Conspiring among the ignorant’- the thoughts of the people in the uprising were ignorant. ‘

Traditionally Japanese of course. Yeats uses a variety of cultural references in this poem: Asia, Africa, Irish politics etc all make appearances in the allusions within the verse. Perhaps the global references suggest that Con M’s fervent dedication to her one political cause is made to seem a little unimportant in the global/universal scheme of things.

I think there has been a slight mistake in this section:
Yeats calls Constance ignorant for her actions in Easter 1916, and adds to the irrelevance of her ways by saying that they were ‘younger dreams’, and therefore she was young and foolish. He thinks that she dreamed of a ‘utopia’ which was an unachievable perfect state. Yeats compares Constance to her politics by saying that she is ‘skeleton-gaunt’, and that fervor for something takes away beauty, as it did with Maud Gonne.
As Yeats says “I know not what the younger dreams” as in “the younger” refers to Eva and is not describing the dreams, therefore the dream of “some vague Utopia” and the description of “old and skeleton-gaunt” also refer to Eva and not Constance as suggested.

Could the “vague Utopia” not refer to Eva’s involvement with the suffragette movement? Therefore implying that Ireland is more likely to achieve devolution from England than women receiving the vote or equal standards.

I agree. It is of interest, though not necessary to know, that Eva was suffering with bowel cancer before she died, which she did not reveal, which accounts for her ‘skeleton-gaunt’ appearance when Yeats last saw her. For me, the folly of a fight with a common wrong or right possibly refers to the terrbile factional fighting within different parts of the pro-independent Ireland movement in the early 20’s, which resulted in about two hundred great old homes like Lissadell being burnt to the ground. If Yeats was disturbed by the earlier events and politics surrounding 1916, he must have this latest development of the political landscape even more sickening. I am wondering if the imagery of the match and the conflagration in the final lines in some ways refers to the arson attacks on these great ancestral homes of ireland, and all that they represented.

In my opinion, the most powerful image presented in this poem is shown in the first stanza.
“Two girls in silk kimonos, both
Beautiful, one a gazelle.
But a raving autumn shears
Blossom from the summer’s wreath”
Yeats paints a very strong picture here of two elegent women. The sisters were brought up in an aristocratic family and this is shown through the expensive, exotic “silk kimonos” they wear. The scenery of the “Blossom” and the “Summer” season emphasises the exotic glamour that makes these women wealthy and sophisticated. However, time catches up with them and this represents the contrast between beauty and death as these two sisters are about to be punished for standing up for what they believe in. Politics has taken over.

Perhaps “Bid me strike a match and blow” could refer to Yeats extinguishing the cause by blowing out the flame. This could be linked with Man and the Echo as he doesn’t want any more to die from the violence.

I was taught that the last stanza was Yeats addressing time and how “The innocent and the beautiful / have no enemy but time.” as well as politics ruining the two women time has too. Therefore, Yeats wants to “Arise and bid me strike a match / And strike another till time catch.” and destroy time. Also the rhyme becomes stronger in the last stanza which could suggest and emphasise the anger Yeats feels towards time and how he wants to destroy time all together. Yeats has shown his hatred for ageing and time in his previous poems such as, ‘Sailing to Byzantium’ where Yeats compares himself to “A tattered coat upon a stick”. Couldn’t you say that Yeats is sick of time ruining himself and the beauty of the ones he knows and loves (Maud Gonne in ‘Broken Dreams’, “There i grey in your hair / Young men no longer suddenly catch their breath / When you are passing”), so he wants to destroy time all together???

“younger dreams” doesn’t refer to the fact that Con’ dreams were childish. It’s referring to Con’s younger sister, Eva, and what she dreams. “I know not what the younger dreams” as in, Yeats doesn’t know what Eva’s ambitions were, because Eva was more concerned with women’s suffrage than with Ireland. Just realised someone has already made this point in the comment section, but nevermind.